by Tony Wikrent
Economics Action Group, North Carolina Democratic Party Progressive Caucus
Strategic Political Economy
Liberals and the left fail to notice - and celebrate - the intellectual death of conservatismTony Wikrent, March 2, 2019 [Real Economics]
Faced with Trump's populist seizure of the Republican Party, establishment conservatives and libertarians are trying to redefine republicanism to exclude anything other than market capitalism.
....[Republicanism] is an embrace of the noble aspects of humanity to share and cooperate; more to the point, it is a rejection of the selfishness and self-interest that are supposed to be the mainsprings of capitalism.... Lindsey cannot, and most likely never will, recognize, or acknowledge, that republicanism does not specify any particular form of economic organization society should adopt. It certainly does not specify capitalism. In fact, neither does the Constitution or the founders. Find the text of the Constitution and The Federalist Papers online in a searchable format, and try to find the words "capitalism" or "capitalistic" in them. They simply are not there. Why? Because those words do not become fully developed intellectual concepts until the years just before Karl Marx's Capital was published in 1867....
Unfortunately, the left's understanding of republicanism is also fatally flawed. Too many on the left do not even know what republicanism or a republic is and should be. This ignorance of republicanism is what leads so many who insist justice and equality shall not be had until any arrangement and institution they deem to be capitalistic is extirpated, to believe that the rapacious drive to empire that characterizes the USA today is the original intent of the founders. They are unable to discern the two hostile schools of political economy that contended for control through all of USA history, and thus have difficulty distinguishing friend from foe, producer class from leisure class. Intellectually, they are incapable of grasping the significance of Lindsey's ideological dead end.
But it gets worse, much worse, for conservatives and modern libertarians. Unless Lindsey and other doctrinaire propagandists succeed in redefining it on their terms, republicanism demands that the problems of wealth injustices and income inequalities be solved in ways they are going to hate.
Climate Crisis and New Green Deal
This is an emergency, damn it
[Vox, via Naked Capitalism 2-25-19]
Justin Mikulka, February 25, 2019 [DeSmog Blog, via Naked Capitalism 2-25-19]
NC Labor Unveils “Good-Jobs” Policy Agenda at Biennial Legislative Conference
NC AFL-CIO, February 25, 2019
[In These Times, via NC AFL-CIO 2-25-19]
Other People’s Blood On Paul Volcker.
[n+1., via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
[MarketWatch, via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
Racially Discriminatory Lending Leads to Black Community Wealth Decline
[The Real News Network 2-24-19]
Wisconsin dairy farms are failing as milk prices fall — and it could change Wisconsin forever [Journal Sentinel, The Big Picture 3-2-19]
Farm Loan Delinquencies Highest in 9 Years as Prices Slump
”The [Green New Deal] release prompted a great deal of smart, insightful writing, but also a lot of knee-jerk and predictable cant. Conservatives called it socialist. Moderates called it extreme. Pundits called it unrealistic. Wonks scolded it over this or that omission. Political gossip columnists obsessed over missteps in the rollout. What ties the latter reactions together, from my perspective, is that they seem oblivious to the historical moment, like thespians acting out an old, familiar play even as the theater goes up in flames around them…. The house is on fire. But an odd number of Democrats and pundits just seem to be whistling past it, acting out familiar roles and repeating familiar narratives, as though we’re still in an era of normal politics, as though there are still two normal parties and some coherent “center” they are both attempting to capture… Here’s the only way any of this works: You develop a vision of politics that puts ordinary people at the center and gives them a tangible stake in the country’s future, a share in its enormous wealth, and a role to play in its greater purpose. Then organize people around that vision and demand it from elected representatives. If elected representatives don’t push for it, make sure they get primaried or defeated.”America landed a man on the moon. Climate change calls for the same bold, can-do spirit.
Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, [USA Today, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
“I have tried to pass along that same can-do Americanism to my kids. That’s why I am so disappointed by the melodrama surrounding the Green New Deal resolution. Meekness in the face of crisis isn’t what America is all about. My concern isn’t with the bad-faith arguments from Republican climate change deniers…. What worries me more are those who believe in climate change but offer no real solutions. From fretful hand-wringing to derisive sniggering to outright dismissal, folks who say climate change is an existential crisis have also cherry-picked or distorted elements of the Green New Deal to reduce the whole idea to pie-in-the-sky fantasy. This undermines the seriousness of the threat, downplays the scale of an adequate response, and sticks us with an untenable status quo.”
Lambert Strether notes: "Maloney represents NY-18, which Trump won by two points, and his caucus memberships include the horrid No Labels “coalition,” so he wouldn’t be my first pick to write such an Op-Ed. I find this encouraging."
$200 Million Dollars a Year Could Reverse Climate Change, Says Wave Energy Pioneer
BBC, via Naked Capitalism 3-1-19]
Overcoming the Ideology of Climate Inaction
[Project Syndicate, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
$200 Million Dollars a Year Could Reverse Climate Change, Says Wave Energy Pioneer
BBC, via Naked Capitalism 3-1-19]
Overcoming the Ideology of Climate Inaction
[Project Syndicate, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
“Climate wonks regularly warn that ‘business as usual’ cannot avert climate change. But, while that is true, the phrase itself betrays a neoliberal obsession with making “business” fit for purpose – a tweak here, a nudge there – as if citizens were merely passive subjects of larger economic forces. We all have an active role to play in shaping the economy. But to do so requires that we first shake off the constraints that neoliberal thinking has placed on the public imagination…. The policies that have resulted from this mindset – defunding or otherwise curtailing public investment, deregulating the economy, and decentralizing democracy – have prevented the US from weaning itself off fossil fuels.”The Economic Case For The Green New Deal
[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
Forbes? Forbes?! The times, they are a changing.
“Carbon pricing definitely has a role to play, but market approaches have limits. Markets are effective at allocating resources when the required adjustments are small and the outcomes clear and immediate. Yet, there’s a reason that during World War II, the government built aircraft factories and allocated scarce materials like steel and rubber through the War Production Board. Closer to home, there’s a reason that large businesses have professional managers to plan their operations, and don’t rely on internal markets. The limits of leaving large-scale planning to markets should be even clearer today, especially after the experience of the housing bubble and crash, which demonstrated a colossal failure of financial markets to direct investment to productive uses. We shouldn’t count on the same financial system that so mismanaged the housing market to guide the shift away from fossil fuels on its own.”A World Without Clouds
[Quanta Magazine, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming and cloud loss can push Earth’s climate past a disastrous tipping point in as little as a century.Climate Change Is Here—and It Looks Like Starvation
[The Nation, via Naked Capitalism 3-2-19]
Grasslands More Reliable Carbon Sink Than Trees
Grasslands More Reliable Carbon Sink Than Trees
[UC Davis, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
“A study from the University of California, Davis, found that grasslands and rangelands are more resilient carbon sinks than forests in 21st century California. As such, the study indicates they should be given opportunities in the state’s cap-and-and trade market, which is designed to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030…. Unlike forests, grasslands sequester most of their carbon underground, while forests store it mostly in woody biomass and leaves. When wildfires cause trees to go up in flames, the burned carbon they formerly stored is released back to the atmosphere. When fire burns grasslands, however, the carbon fixed underground tends to stay in the roots and soil, making them more adaptive to climate change.”Democrats Criticized for Shying Away From Green New Deal
[The Intercept, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Could Cost $93 Trillion Group Says
[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
The GOP's zombie hordes on the attack. Interestingly, they get the price tag about right. "How do we pay for it?" needs to be a key part of any GND discussion and organizing.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Could Cost $93 Trillion Group Says
[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
The GOP's zombie hordes on the attack. Interestingly, they get the price tag about right. "How do we pay for it?" needs to be a key part of any GND discussion and organizing.
[Data For Progress, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
About Page [Youth Climate Strike, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
About Page [Youth Climate Strike, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
Our Mission: “We, the youth of America, are striking because decades of inaction has left us with just 11 years to change the trajectory of the worst effects of climate change, according to the Oct 2018 UN IPCC Report. We are striking because our world leaders have yet to acknowledge, prioritize, or properly address our climate crisis. We are striking because marginalized communities across our nation —especially communities of color, disabled communities, and low- income communities— are already disproportionately impacted by climate change. We are striking because if the social order is disrupted by our refusal to attend school, then the system is forced to face the climate crisis and enact change. With our futures at stake, we call for radical legislative action to combat climate change and its countless detrimental effects on the American people. We are striking for the Green New Deal, for a fair and just transition to a 100% renewable economy, and for ending the creation of additional fossil fuel infrastructure. Additionally, we believe the climate crisis should be declared a national emergency because we are running out of time.”The Inevitable Death of Natural Gas as a ‘Bridge Fuel’
Justin Mikulka, February 25, 2019 [DeSmog Blog, via Naked Capitalism 2-25-19]
A similar situation is unfolding in Germany, which aims to close all its coal plants in the next 20 years. The natural gas industry initially saw this as an opportunity to slide in and replace coal, but the lower cost of renewable energy may lead Germany to skip the “bridge” offered by natural gas and move straight to renewables, which already provide over 40 percent of the nation’s power.Senate Confirms Former Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler To Lead EPA
[CNN, via Naked Capitalism 3-1-19]
Lambert Strether: "While you were busy being distracted by Cohen…"
A Doomsday Vault In India Holds Frozen Storage For The Survival Of Future Generations
A Doomsday Vault In India Holds Frozen Storage For The Survival Of Future Generations
[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 2-24-19]
At an elevation of 17,500 feet above sea level, Chang La offers up sub zero temperatures and extremely low humidity and is in a rare zone safe from flooding and earthquakes. And what is nestled within the Chang La Vault is a bank of 10,000 seeds and 200 plant species preserved in permafrost at -18° C, ready to be restored, in the event of a cataclysmic emergency.
[American Prospect, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
....just as Democrats predicted, corporations primarily used their windfalls not to raise worker pay but for record stock buybacks. And now that corporations are reporting their tax information for 2018, the first year the tax cut was in effect, we're seeing just how much they gained. Here are a few representative examples, courtesy of Axios:
In the past, companies have used their armies of accountants, tax lawyers, and lobbyists to navigate and shape the complexities of the tax code to make sure they didn't pay anything at all or even got large refunds. But the new law, which both lowered the nominal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and carved out even more pathways for tax avoidance, made it more likely than ever that corporations will get away with paying nothing.
- GM is claiming a $104 million refund on $11.8 billion in 2018 profit.
- Goodyear is seeking a $15 million refund on $693 million in profit.
- Halliburton will pay $19 million in U.S. income taxes on $1.6 billion in profit.
- Netflix filed for a $22.1 million refund on $845 million in profit.
- U.S. Steel is claiming a $303 million refund on $957 million in profit.
But that's not even the most vivid illustration of what the tax bill did. According to a new FDIC report, bank profits increased by $72.4 billion last year compared to 2017, with $28.8 billion attributable directly to the tax cut. Turning that into a political spear to thrust at Republicans' hearts is easy. Try this: "A decade ago, Wall Street nearly destroyed the American economy, and the taxpayer stepped up and bailed them out. Then Donald Trump and the Republicans came along and gave them a tax cut worth $28.8 billion dollars in just one year. Does that sound fair to you?"
NC Labor Unveils “Good-Jobs” Policy Agenda at Biennial Legislative Conference
NC AFL-CIO, February 25, 2019
Almost 150 labor leaders attended the North Carolina Labor Legislative Conference earlier this month in Raleigh. At the two-day conference, the North Carolina State AFL-CIO unveiled its Good-Jobs Agenda, a policy agenda that is rooted in the AFL-CIO Workers’ Bill of Rights, which holds that all working people are entitled to good, safe jobs with fair wages; quality healthcare; paid time off and flexible, predictable scheduling; freedom from discrimination; retirement with dignity; quality education; freedom to join together to address working conditions; and the right to have a voice in our democracy.
During the conference, union members met with lawmakers to discuss the labor movement’s two priorities for the 2019-2020 legislative session – raising the state minimum wage and guaranteeing employee rest breaksInstead of Enriching Shareholders, These Companies Could Give 8 Million Workers a $46,000 Raise
[In These Times, via NC AFL-CIO 2-25-19]
During the most recent fiscal year, the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave $378.5 billion to shareholders. That translates to more than $46,000 for each of their combined 8 million employees
[Syracuse Post-Standard, via Naked Capitalism 3-2-19]
The article helpfully lists all the executive salaries.
[n+1., via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
As chair of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987, Volcker was the most powerful central banker in the world. These were the years when the industrial workers movement was defeated in the United States and United Kingdom, and third world debt crises exploded. Both of these owe something to Volcker..... To catalog all the results of the Volcker Shock—shuttered factories, broken unions, dizzying financialization—is to describe the whirlwind we are still reaping in 2019....
Those who praise Volcker like to say he “broke the back” of inflation. Nancy Teeters, the lone dissenter on the Fed Board of Governors, had a different metaphor: “I told them, ‘You are pulling the financial fabric of this country so tight that it’s going to rip. You should understand that once you tear a piece of fabric, it’s very difficult, almost impossible, to put it back together again.” ...Reagan economic adviser Michael Mussa was nearer the truth when he said that “to establish its credibility, the Federal Reserve had to demonstrate its willingness to spill blood, lots of blood, other people’s blood.”
Memo to Maxine Waters: Wells Fargo Is Far from the Biggest Problem on Wall Street
Pam Martens, February 26, 2019 [Wall Street on Parade]
SALT Cap Will Leave Nearly 10.9 Million People Feeling Tax Pain
Pam Martens, February 26, 2019 [Wall Street on Parade]
SALT Cap Will Leave Nearly 10.9 Million People Feeling Tax Pain
[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
[The Nation, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
“When 1,700 members of United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America Locals 506 and 618 struck at the sprawling Wabtec locomotive plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, Tuesday morning, they got an immediate show of solidarity from one of the most prominent political figures in the United States.”The biggest winners of a minimum wage hike might not be who you think
[MarketWatch, via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
“A mere 9% of the 39.7 million workers who would directly and indirectly benefit from the raise were 19 and younger. More than half of workers, 53%, who would benefit were between the ages of 25 and 54. Workers aged 55 and above accounted for the remaining 14.6% of estimated beneficiaries.”[Economic Policy Institute, via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
“Overall, the [EPI’s new State of Working America (SWA) Wages] findings indicate wages are slowly improving with the growing economy, but wage inequality has grown and wage gaps have persisted, and in some cases, worsened. In this post, I will highlight one particular worsening wage gap and look at it from multiple dimensions. Since 2000, by any way it’s measured, the wage gap between black and white workers has grown significantly. The findings here support the important research by Valerie Wilson and William M. Rodgers III, which shows that black-white wage gaps expanded with rising wage inequality from 1979 to 2015. Where their report is incredibly comprehensive, the trends outlined here are rudimentary, but reinforce the same basic truths.”The Raise the Wage Act of 2019 would give black workers a much-needed boost in pay[Economic Policy Institute, 2-28-19]
Racially Discriminatory Lending Leads to Black Community Wealth Decline
[The Real News Network 2-24-19]
Baltimore study shows predatory lending by major banks across nation led to massive home foreclosures and wealth theft in Black communities
[The American Conservative, via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
“The questions that instantly arise are: who would qualify as a beneficiary of reparations? And who would pay the immense transfer sums involved?”
Lambert Strether instructs us to "remember Lincoln’s words:"
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
[Washington Post, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Friday evening that Native Americans should be “part of the conversation” on reparations, showing a willingness to expand the debate over whether minority groups that have faced discrimination should be financially compensated by the federal government. Warren is one of four Democratic presidential hopefuls who have said in recent days that they are open to providing some type of reparations to African Americans who are descendants of people who were enslaved in the United States, although they have offered varying levels of details about how the goal would be achieved.”
Because farmers and other rural workers make less, they also spend less
The recovery from the Great Recession was an urban phenomenonRural areas still have not even recovered the jobs they lost in the recession. pic.twitter.com/qpFA0xeHIb
Wisconsin dairy farms are failing as milk prices fall — and it could change Wisconsin forever [Journal Sentinel, The Big Picture 3-2-19]
[AgWeb, via Naked Capitalism 3-2-19]
Foxconn, a tale of slashed salaries, disappearing benefits and mass resignations as iPhone orders dry up
[South China Morning Post, via Naked Capitalism 3-2-19]
[Econoday, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
“A glaring weakness in December and November orders are sharp 1.0 percent and 1.1 percent declines for core capital goods orders (nondefense ex-aircraft). This is telling evidence that business investment is down which in turn may well betray a downturn in business confidence…. Manufacturing is disproportionately exposed to global demand and the sector’s slump is a convincing reflection of general slowing in foreign economies, something that the Federal Reserve underscored as a key reason for its January downshift to neutral monetary policy.”
Health Care for all People
Don’t Let Medicare For All Be Rebranded
[Current Affairs, via Naked Capitalism 2-25-19]
“In the lead up to the 2018 midterms, the mildly named “Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future” brought together a consortium of industries—big insurance, big healthcare, Pharma, and the AMA—with the single goal of opposing Medicare-for-All. Corporations recognize that single-payer, Medicare-for-All—the real thing—has the potential to finally align our healthcare system with the needs of the people it serves, rather than the profiteers who have dominated it for a long time. By allowing them to redefine it, those who would turn Medicare-for-All into nothing but a meme may, yet again, doom our best chance at a just, equitable, and sustainable approach to healthcare in America.”Medicare-for-all: Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s new bill, explained”
Sarah Kliff [Vox, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
“Eventually, though, everyone would all end up in the same plan, which includes an especially robust set of benefits…. The plan is also significantly more generous than the single-payer plans run by America’s peer countries. The Canadian health care system, for example, does not cover vision or dental care, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services, or home health services…. What’s more, the Jayapal plan does not require consumers pay any out-of-pocket spending on health aside from prescription drugs. This means there would be no charge when you go to the doctor, no copayments when you visit the emergency room. All those services would be covered fully by the universal Medicare plan. This too is not in line with international single-payer systems, which often require some payment for seeking most services.”"The Only Guide to 'Medicare for All' That You Will Ever Need
Timothy Faust [Splinter News, via Avedon's Sideshow 2-26-19]
In the coming weeks, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is set to release a new 'Medicare for All' bill. I'm generally inclined to distrust the policy gestures of elected officials, but I've read a detailed overview of the bill from Jayapal's office and I'm happy to say that this bill is astonishingly strong, and should become the baseline for federal legislation toward single-payer healthcare. (I'll discuss why in a minute.)" Tim writes a lot about what must be included in the bills. He says all but two are write-offs. The two, of course, are Sanders' and Jayapal's - but even they have problems, It's worth reading the whole thing. But no bill, including Jayapal's, is enough. No bill, on its own, could be enough. For the past hundred years, every time the insiders — the well-meaning senators, the well-meaning policy writers, the well-meaning union or nonprofit leaders — have taken on the insurance industry, they've written a bill and waved it around and tried to gin up support among the grassroots. And then they were beaten by a reactionary establishment that is capable of outmaneuvering, outfoxing, and outgunning health reform. They lost in the '40s, they lost in the '60s, they lost in the '70s, they lost a few times in the '90s, and they lost in the 2000s." This isn't something the wonks can handle. It depends on the grassroots screaming for it. So be ready to scream.“The Biggest Obstacle to Medicare for All Is Other Democrats”
[Splinter News, via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
“The outlook of her fellow Democrats on single-payer is more proof that on top of batting the healthcare industry and the full force of the Republican Party on Medicare for All, lefty Democrats are going to have to fight colleagues in their own party tooth and nail in order to get a healthcare system that works for everyone.”ACA Was A Failure:
Atrios [Eschaton, via Avedon's Sideshow 2-26-19]
No, really, a total failure. Yes there were some good regulatory changes. Yes the exchanges make it possible for some people to buy on the individual market (though that insurance is mostly...not good). Yes the Medicaid expansion was great. But the important thing to remember about the Medicaid expansion was that it was a last minute *fix* to keep the price tag down. Think about that. It was cheaper to provide free health care for more people than to throw them onto the subsidized exchanges at subsidy levels that they could possibly afford. If they'd taken it up to 500% of FPL and 600% of FPL it would have been even cheaper! And that became a political problem, because your poor neighbor has free health care and you have to pay for a bronze plan which sucks."
Modern Monetary Theory
Paul Krugman Asked Me About Modern Monetary Theory. Here Are 4 Answers.
Stephanie Kelton, March 1, 2019 [Bloomberg, via John Claydon]
Stephanie Kelton, March 1, 2019 [Bloomberg, via John Claydon]
Deficit levels, interest rates and the tradeoff between fiscal and monetary policy.Krugman vs Kelton on the fiscal-monetary tradeoff
[Lars P. Syll, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
MMT 101: A Reply to Critics Part 1
Eric Tymoigne and L. Randall Wray, December 1, 2013 [New Economic Perspectives]
MMT 101: A Reply to Critics Part 1
Eric Tymoigne and L. Randall Wray, December 1, 2013 [New Economic Perspectives]
[Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Part IV] [Part V] [Part VI]
This is Part 1 of a six part series in which we deal with critics of MMT. As readers of this blog know, our critics continually raise the same old tired critiques of MMT. They scapegoat MMT by attributing to us claims we’ve never made. They take our words out of context to build up a strawman that they attempt to destroy. No matter how many times we respond to a particular critique, another critic tries to use it again. Warren Mosler used to use the analogy of the “Bop a Gopher” game at the arcades: you bop one and another pops up.
Information Age Dystopia
Koch Network Pushes Deceitful Textbook on Cash-Strapped Schools
[TruthOut, via Naked Capitalism 2-24-19]
[Of Dollars And Data, via The Big Picture 2-24-19]
[Artificial Lawyer, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
“‘California has decriminalized recreational cannabis use, but a marijuana conviction continues to serve as a barrier to employment, housing, student loans and more. Lack of access to employment and housing are two primary drivers of recidivism, so until we clear these records it’s government that is effectively holding these people back and impeding public safety. I’m hopeful that this partnership will inspire many prosecutors who have cited resource constraints to join this common sense effort and provide this relief,’ [District Attorney George Gascón] added.Good Morning New York Times [via Naked Capitalism 3-1-19]
Paul Mozur’s column, “Limiting Your Digital Footprints in a Surveillance State,” creates the impression that users can defend their privacy with a mobile app like Signal. Despite the reality that applications like Signal are, in fact, a beacon to security services that you’re doing something interesting which merits their attention.
Since 2011 domestic security spending in China has rivaled the military’s budget. Journalists may view Chinese authorities as somewhat incompetent, but the unravelling of Central Intelligence Agency operations in China from 2010 to 2012 offers a compelling counterexample. One C.I.A. source was killed in public. Right in front of his colleagues. This should serve as a potent reminder that in high risk scenarios Mozur’s approach borders on professional negligence.
The Russian military has recently banned smartphones. Thus highlighting an inconvenient truth: you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Meeting security objectives often entails sacrificing the convenience of technology.Police in Canada Are Tracking People’s ‘Negative’ Behavior In a ‘Risk’ Database
[Motherboard, via Naked Capitalism 3-1-19]
The Risk-driven Tracking Database (RTD) is part of a collaborative approach to policing called the Hub model that partners cops, school staff, social workers, health care workers, and the provincial government.
Information about people believed to be “at risk” of becoming criminals or victims of harm is shared between civilian agencies and police and is added to the database when a person is being evaluated for a rapid intervention intended to lower their risk levels. Interventions can range from a door knock and a chat to forced hospitalization or arrest.
I enabled a bunch of privacy settings and still felt like my Facebook/Insta ads were a little too relevant. So I faked a pregnancy by downloading the What to Expect app to see how long it would take for FB to hit me w a maternity ad. The answer? 11 hours wsj.com/articles/faceb…
7,739 people are talking about this
Creating New Economic Potential - Science and Technology
[SlashGear, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
[NASA, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
University of California boycotts publishing giant Elsevier over journal costs and open access
University of California boycotts publishing giant Elsevier over journal costs and open access
[Science Magazine, via Naked Capitalism 3-1-19]
The mammoth University of California (UC) system announced today that it will stop paying to subscribe to journals published by Elsevier, the world’s largest scientific publisher. Talks to renew a collective contract broke down, the university said, because Elsevier refused to strike a package deal that would provide a break on subscription fees and make all articles published by UC authors immediately free for readers worldwide.GWEC: World added 51.3 GW of new wind capacity in 2018
The stand by UC, which followed eight months of negotiations, could have significant impacts on scientific communication and the direction of the so-called open access movement, in the United States and beyond. The 10-campus system accounts for nearly 10 percent of all U.S. publishing output and is among the first American institutions, and by far the largest, to boycott Elsevier over costs.
[CNBC, via American Wind Energy Association 2-27-19]
Wind farms with a combined capacity of 51.3 gigawatts came online in 2018, bringing the world's total installed wind capacity to 591 GW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. China added more land-based and offshore wind capacity than any other nation.GE Renewable led US turbine installation in 2018
[Windpower Monthly (UK) (free content), via American Wind Energy Association 3-1-19]
Click through for interactive graphs of most popular US turbine models in 2017 and 2018.
GE Renewable Energy led the US in terms of new wind capacity in 2018, accounting for 3.1 gigawatts of the 7.6 GW added last year, says the American Wind Energy Association. GE received the most orders for its 2.5-megawatt 116 machines, although the report notes that many projects are opting for 3-MW-plus equipment to tap into new wind sites.Clean energy transition will require major grid changes
[E&E News (free content), via American Wind Energy Association 2-26-19]
This Energy Department map shows how new long-distance power lines allow surplus wind and solar power to be shared across the United States. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory]
$25M maritime, offshore wind training center planned in North CarolinaMajor transmission upgrades -- and potentially a national grid that can share electricity across time zones -- are needed to support the US' switch to an economy largely or entirely powered by wind and other renewables, writes Peter Behr. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory outlines a scenario where the US could break from coal, source 40% of its electricity from wind and solar by 2038 and create a multi-time-zone transmission network where the benefits are triple the cost.
This Energy Department map shows how new long-distance power lines allow surplus wind and solar power to be shared across the United States. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory]
[The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), via American Wind Energy Association 2-25-19]
Bill Black [Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
BEI Maritime hopes to open a $25 million facility in Currituck County, N.C., in two years that would offer training for offshore wind, special forces, law enforcement and other groups involved with maritime industries. The site is expected to train participants to Global Wind Organization standards....
It could be the first of its kind in the world.
The facility costing more than $25 million would be built on 25 acres at the county's industrial complex next to the airport off U.S. 158 in Maple. It is expected to open in 2021 attracting more than 6,000 trainees the first year, said Scott Chierepko, cofounder of BEI Maritime.
The indoor pool would simulate stormy ocean conditions with big waves, wind and hard rain. Components include a three-story-tall cargo ship 110 feet long and an outdoor structure built to simulate fighting fires on a ship.
Tokyo metro launches new Marunouchi Line trains
[Railway Age 2-26-19]
[Railway Age 2-26-19]
Tokyo Metro’s new fleet of 2000 series trains entered commercial service on the Marunouchi Line on Feb. 23. The 600V dc third rail trains are equipped with permanent magnet synchronous motors, reducing energy consumption by 27% compared with the 02 series trains, which will be replaced by the 2000 series sets.
Tel Aviv breaks new ground with first transit project
[Railway Age 2-26-19]
If you click through to the article, note the high profile role of the Chinese consortium of China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTGB) and China Railway Electrification Bureau (EEB). Tel Aviv has a population of 443,939 in the city, and 1,388,400 in the urban area. Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill urban population is 2,037,430.
[Railway Age 2-26-19]
If you click through to the article, note the high profile role of the Chinese consortium of China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTGB) and China Railway Electrification Bureau (EEB). Tel Aviv has a population of 443,939 in the city, and 1,388,400 in the urban area. Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill urban population is 2,037,430.
Tel Aviv is on course to open its inaugural light rail line in October 2021. IRJ’s Kevin Smith gets an update on progress with the Red Line, the backbone of the system, and further projects as the Israeli city attempts to improve mobility for citizens....
The Red Line is Tel Aviv’s first major tunnelling project, which inevitably presents challenges. The presence of soft sandy cemented ground conditions with a high water level raised concerns about the stability of the tunnel face. However, tunnelling contractor, CRTG, delivered sophisticated earth balancing tunnelling machines, as specified by WSP, and Burchell reports that the work has gone very well with settlements of just 5mm and a production rate of 20-30m per day, which is more than expected.
Excavation of the 10km dual bore tunnels for the Red Line is nearing completion in central Tel Aviv.
NYC Tunnel Closing Would Cut Home Values by $20 Billion, Study Says
NYC Tunnel Closing Would Cut Home Values by $20 Billion, Study Says
[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 2-27-19]
Delta TechOps’ Test Cell Largest In World, Sets It Up for Future Engines
Lee Ann Shay, Febraury 25, 2019 [MRO Network / Aviation Week and Space Technology]
[Machine Design Today -2-19]
Getting Past the Door: How We Moved from Canvassing to Organizing Buildings (PDF)
Democratic Consultants Should Stop Working for Corporate Clients
Delta TechOps’ Test Cell Largest In World, Sets It Up for Future Engines
Lee Ann Shay, Febraury 25, 2019 [MRO Network / Aviation Week and Space Technology]
Delta TechOps opened a $100 million test cell capable of running an engine at 150,000 lb. thrust at its Atlanta facilities, which not only makes it the largest test cell in the world, according to the airline MRO, but it also sets it up for the next 50-100 years because it will be capable of testing engines not even designed. For reference, each GE Aviation GE90, which powers Delta’s Boeing 777-200LR fleet, produces 115,000 lb. thrust—the highest thrust commercial engine.Thinner Catalysts Lower Costs of Automotive Fuel Cells
[Machine Design Today -2-19]
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new method of increasing the reactivity of ultrathin nanosheets, just a few atoms thick, that could make fuel cells for hydrogen cars less expensive.
Politics
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants the Country to Think Big (interview)
[Rolling Stone, via Naked Capitalism 2-28-19]
You originally wanted to be an OB-GYN. Why did you make the switch?\
I had spent time living in West Africa while I was an undergrad, helping midwives deliver babies in the Sahara, and I contracted malaria while I was there. In the developing world, malaria is an economic disease. It’s a disease that impacts so many people as to be actually impacting national GDP, so I started thinking about these health issues as more macro-economic public-policy issues.
But I was personally impacted when my father passed away in the heat of the financial crisis, and I graduated college and was waitressing. The thing that people don’t understand about restaurants is that they’re one of the most political environments. You’re shoulder-to-shoulder with immigrants. You’re at one of the nexuses of income inequality. Your hourly wage is even less than the minimum wage. You’re working for tips. You’re getting sexually harassed. You see how our food is processed and handled. You see how the prices of things change. It was a very galvanizing political experience for me.
[Metro DC DSA, via Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
“For the past 18 months, volunteers from the Stomp Out Slumlords project have crisscrossed the District of Columbia, finding tenants facing eviction and talking to them about how they can defend themselves. We’ve knocked the doors of nearly 8,000 tenants being sued for eviction, we’ve spent hundreds of person-hours talking to tenants at landlord-tenant court, we’ve gotten to know militant tenants and worked alongside them to organize in their buildings. In the course of this work, we’ve learned a great deal about the dynamics of eviction and tenant struggle, and we’ve been forced to reevaluate core tenets of our project’s original strategy. We have struggled to execute the plan we started out with, but we have succeeded beyond our expectations in areas of work we had not planned to take on.”
[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 2-25-19]
“While it’s not well-known outside the political class, many consultants who advise campaigns are often working for corporate clients at the same time—and all too frequently, these clients interests’ directly oppose the goals of any progressive coalition. Those working both sides of the street include some of the most senior aides from the Obama administration, and as well as advisers to both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns. From opposing progressive taxation to fighting for deregulation, working for corporate clients means pushing an agenda most progressives would consider a non-starter were it espoused by a political candidate.”Thomas Friedman Is Right: Pie Doesn’t Grow on Trees
Matt Taibbi, February 21, 2019 [via Naked Capitalism]
It takes guts to try to one-up George W. Bush’s famed “make the pie higher” routine, but Friedman gives it a go, deftly rebranding the idea as mainstream-Democrat thought. This makes sense if your idea of a Democrat is Mike Bloomberg, as “opportunity” homilies are popular with billionaires, especially in response to complaints about inequality. Want more pie? Grow your own!
....If there’s a concept that sums up the wisdom of Thomas Friedman better than “pie doesn’t grow on trees,” I can’t recall it.Republicans Sink Further Into Trump’s Cesspool
[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism]
Resilc: “Nixon was still loved by 20+% at the end"
By now Republicans must know, deep in their hearts, that Mr. Cohen’s portrayal of Mr. Trump as a “racist,” “a con man” and “a cheat” is spot on. So it is the truth they fear, and it is the truth — the fundamental reality of the world as it actually is — that they feel compelled to destroy. This is the central organizing principle of the Republican Party now. More than tax cuts. More than trade wars. More even than building a wall on our southern border. Republicans are dedicated to annihilating truth in order to defend Mr. Trump...
A second thing that stands out from Mr. Cohen’s testimony is that the Republican Party has been as corrupted by its association with Mr. Trump as Mr. Cohen was by his. As Mr. Cohen told Republican lawmakers, “I did the same thing that you’re doing now. For 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years.”
He then issued this warning to them: “The more people that follow Mr. Trump — as I did blindly — are going to suffer the same consequences that I’m suffering.” Mr. Cohen later explained the ethos of Trumpworld: “Everybody’s job at the Trump Organization is to protect Mr. Trump. Every day most of us knew we were coming and we were going to lie for him about something. That became the norm.”Why Did Trump Choose to Be Such an Unpopular President?
Bill Black [Naked Capitalism 2-26-19]
Donald Trump promised to deliver a middle-class tax cut of epic proportions. “The largest tax reductions are for the middle class, who have been forgotten,” Trump said in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 22, 2016.
If Trump had fulfilled that campaign promise, it would have made him spectacularly popular and vastly increased his support beyond his base. He, not the ‘Republican Party,’ controlled the House and the Senate. Many Democrats would have supported a serious cut in middle-class taxes. Better yet, from Trump’s perspective, many Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and ‘Chuck’ Schumer would have bitterly opposed the Trump Tax Triumph on the economically illiterate basis that budget surpluses are next to godliness.
Trump could have followed up his tax cut success with a real infrastructure program distributed through grants to counties, cities, and states. Again, this would have been spectacularly popular and even Pelosi and Schumer would have rushed to co-sponsor the legislation. This would have been the second Trump triumph. With those two triumphs, the Republicans would have won a whole series of close congressional elections in 2018, retained (and perhaps expanded) control of the House, and expanded control of the Senate. That would have been the third Trump triumph and would have positioned him brilliantly for reelection....
Trump’s refusal to deliver the great middle-class tax cut he promised (twice, in 2016 and 2018) has only two possible explanations. One, he is spectacularly stupid. Not mediocre, lazy, or nearly invincibly ignorant. It takes spectacular stupidity to be unable to see, after months of meeting and press reactions, that the middle-class will love major middle-class tax cuts and hate tax cuts designed by Trump’s puppet masters to go overwhelmingly to the exceptionally wealthy....
The other explanation for Trump’s breaking his tax promise to his base also explains his breaking his infrastructure promise. In both cases, Trump has chosen the policy option that is worst for the American people – and for Trump’s popularity. In both cases, Trump kowtows not to his base but to the wealthiest and most rapacious American elites.
Polluted by Money: How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America
Part One, Feb. 22, 2019 [Oregon Live / The Oregonian, via the Big Picture]
Part One, Feb. 22, 2019 [Oregon Live / The Oregonian, via the Big Picture]
In the last four years, Oregon’s most powerful industries have killed, weakened or stalled efforts to deal with climate change, disappearing bird habitat, cancer-causing diesel exhaust, industrial air pollution, oil spill planning and weed killers sprayed from helicopters. What changed Oregon? Money. Lots and lots of money.Part Two March 1, 2019 [Oregon Live / The Oregonian, via the Big Picture]
In The Dalles, the sickening smell of mothballs can burn the inside of your nose, even on what people here consider a good day. In 2016, a few town residents decided they’d had enough. The ensuing battle to stop the stench shows what a political system fueled by corporate cash means for ordinary Oregonians.
No comments:
Post a Comment